finders, keepers (so please look for me)
by Significant What
Summary: "I'm Will Solace. I have your name written on my skin." Soulmate AU


**A/N:** I'm back again with yet another AU! Soulmate AU is my jam; pretty much any version makes me grin like an idiot. Enjoy!

* * *

When Nico gets the first letter of his supposed soulmate's name, he's fourteen and positively pissed off.

"Is it a _W_ or an _M_?" Leo asks, turning his head from side to side and squinting his eyes. Piper slaps the back of his head, and Nico rolls his sleeve back down angrily. "What? It's a valid question!"

"But it's not the _point_!" Nico growls, feeling his whole face turn from pink to a shade that is probably closer to purple than red. He kicks the gravel and thinks about spitting to the ground, but doesn't do it because he knows Jason and Piper won't like it. "The whole soulmate thing is stupid. Who says I even wanted a soulmate? I don't need some fucking idiot – "

"Since when do you swear?" Sounds like that's Jason's biggest problem.

"Is it because it's not a _P_?" Leo teases, and Nico wants to strangle the guy. He doesn't even _like_ Leo, and he doesn't understand why they keep ending up hanging out together. "Because I hate to break it to you, buddy, but he already has all of his letters, and they don't spell _Nico di Angelo_."

Jason grabs Nico's shoulder to keep him from attacking Leo physically. "Leo, that joke got old two years ago. Give it a rest." Jason doesn't say anything about the way Nico still blushes whenever Percy talks to him, and if Nico wasn't so pissed off he'd be grateful. "And who cares if it's a _W_ or an _M_? We'll just have to wait and see."

 _Easy for you to say_ , Nico thinks once he's on his way back home. Jason is two years older, and he's gotten his letters in an abnormally fast speed. He already has Piper's whole first name, and she has most of Jason's, getting letters on a weekly basis now, so they're pretty sure they've found each other already and all is sunshines and rainbows and cotton candy for them. Nico is fourteen and he has a stupid crush on a guy that's three years his senior and also his cousin, and he's got his first letter but that doesn't make anything better.

He lied a little, when he said he doesn't care about soulmates. He _does_ care, just not as much as most people seem to. The idea of there being someone out there designed just for you, someone who is your perfect match, someone who will be your best friend, your other half, whatever you need them to be… Even Nico has to admit that it's intriguing.

But Nico isn't sure he wants to know who his soulmate is. What if they don't like him? What if they _only_ like him because they're _supposed_ to like him, to be soulmates? What if they end up being someone he already knows, and doesn't like?

The last question is probably pointless, though. Ever since Nico first saw the letter this morning, he's been going through all the people he knows. He can't recall anyone who's name starts with a _W_ , and only two with an _M_ – and while Malcolm already has three letters on his shoulder (and doesn't like talking about it, which Nico respects), Meg is only seven, and won't be getting her letters any time soon. Nico highly doubts he knows his soulmate yet. He feels like that should make him feel at least a little bit better, but it doesn't. It just makes his stomach turn.

It doesn't get any better when he gets home. He severely regrets telling Bianca about getting his first letter, because now it's all his mother talks about.

" _Il mio bambino_ , all grown up already!" she exclaims and insists to see the letter, no matter how many times Nico tells her what it is. "And such neat and graceful handwriting! I can already tell she's wonderful, Niccolo." _It's Nico_ , Nico thinks, but the words don't come out. He's tired of arguing about that.

Mother has her letters on her neck. Nico has last seen them when he was six, and all he knows is that the name is not his father's. He doesn't know what happened, or why mother didn't end up with her soulmate, but he does see why she only wears shirts with high collars to hide the mark. It would probably be upsetting for father to be faced with another person's name every time he looked at mother.

Then again, Nico muses during dinner, he doesn't know anything about father's mark. He hasn't seen it, and father doesn't talk about it. Does he have mother's name tattooed somewhere on his skin, or does he have another name like her? Does he have a mark at all? Nico has heard of such cases, and truthfully he'd been hoping to be one of them. How easy it would be to live his life without worrying about someone who he might never even meet in person…

"As soon as you find her, you will bring her for dinner", father announces, and that's all he says for the matter, and the discussion ends. Nico nods, because it's expected of him, and turns to stare at the food on his plate. It's probably something fancy with a complicated name, but it looks like brains in confetti. He doesn't have an appetite.

(It doesn't escape his notice that his parents seem to assume his soulmate is a _she_. He doesn't feel like correcting them. Not now, anyway.)

Later that night Nico lies in his bed and traces the letter with the tip of his finger. He thinks it might be a _W_. There's a tiny swirl at the end of the thin black line, giving the letter a fancy look, and Nico imagines his soulmate perfecting their signature to the point it looks flawless. The thought brings a small smile to his face, if only briefly.

In the grand scheme of things, the soulmate business is stupid and stressful, and it makes Nico's head ache. He chooses a long sleeved shirt to wear to bed on purpose, so he doesn't get the temptation to look at the stupid letter again. Next day after school he goes to the mall with Piper and buys a barely fashionable leather bracelet, wide enough so that it covers the whole mark. Piper gives him a long look but doesn't say anything about it.

Six months later Nico is fifteen, an orphan, and has to go live with Percy Jackson. He gets his second letter but doesn't even look at it.

* * *

Will only finds his letters when he's almost sixteen and has already got the first two. And he only finds them because Cecil is clumsy and spills Dr Pepper all over his shirt.

"You didn't tell me you have two letters already."

Will's initial reaction is to say that he doesn't. His next one is to point out that it's actually none of Cecil's business if he has letters or not. But he turns to look at his friend with a confused expression while pulling on a clean shirt... "I have letters?"

" _Dude_ , you didn't know?" Cecil grins so wide that his own letter _L_ on his left cheek disappears to a dimple. "And to think I once thought you to be the first of us to find your soulmate."

"Shut up Cecil. Where are they?"

Cecil rolls his eyes. "Upper back, between your shoulder blades." Will takes the shirt off again, and Cecil leans closer to examine the small letters. "Hard to tell yet, but I'd say that's cursive. Want me to take a picture?"

Will fishes his phone from his pocket with trembling hands and holds it out for Cecil. "Please." He has waited for this for so long, and he can't believe he's missed two letters already.

The letters are tiny, way smaller that Will has expected. They're neat and, yes, slightly cursive, and Will desperately wishes he could see them with his own eyes instead of looking at a phone screen. It's a little unfair. Still, his heart does cartwheels when he thinks that _this is it_ , he has the first clues to his soulmate, to the one he's destined to be with, to –

" _Ni_ ", Cecil reads aloud this time, poking the letters rather harshly. Will feels offended; why should Cecil touch his letters when he can't touch them himself? "You know, that's a whole name, in some parts of the world. You don't think – "

"Honestly", Will says, and he can't take his eyes off the letters. "I don't know what to think." He feels strange. Not at all what he always thought he'd feel when he finally started getting his letters. Because, after all, that's all they are – letters. They don't tell him anything yet. It's a little anticlimactic, to be honest.

His other friends burst out laughing downstairs ("Lou, give that back – " "No, Clovis, you're just gonna fall asleep again!"), but for once he doesn't feel like joining them. Cecil seems to get that.

"I'll go down, tell them you need a moment. Is that okay?" Will nods a little, tapping his screen before it turns black so that he can still see the letters. "And hey, don't think too much. It's only the first two letters. You'll get more soon."

Cecil means well, Will is sure of that. But still, once he's alone in his room, shirtless and looking at the two tiny letters on his too bright phone screen, he feels a bang of sadness. _It's only two letters_. Will isn't sure if he wants more. Getting more letters means getting to know the name of his soulmate, and suddenly he's really scared – which, of course, is stupid and unnecessary. What's so scary about soulmates anyway?

Will puts the phone back to his pocket and walks to the bathroom in a daze. Once in front of the mirror, he turns around and tries to see over his shoulder, to get even a little peek of the name. All he sees is a small smudge of black near his left shoulder blade, the beginning of the _N_. He tries to reach it, to touch the mark with even the tip of his finger, but gives up after a while when all it does is make his shoulder and wrist ache from the weird angle.

It's really frustrating. Why does his soulmate mark have to be somewhere he can't see, somewhere he can't reach? It's not like Will wishes it'd be somewhere where _everyone_ could see; not like Cecil with the _L_ in his face. But he'd still like to see it, trace his fingers along it and imagine his soulmate writing it down.

 _What are they like?_ he finds himself thinking, still looking over his shoulder at the letters. _Have I met them already? Do they have any letters yet – two, like me, or more?_ Will turns his head, checks if he can see better over his other shoulder. He can't. _Where are they?_

* * *

Nico notices he has four letters when he takes off his leather bracelet after school one day. His heart doesn't jump. His eyes don't linger. He simply registers that his lonely _W_ has turned into _Will_ sometime during the past year, and wonders if that's the whole first name. Then he turns his attention to his English essay and doesn't look at the mark for months.

His friends are curious, have been ever since that first letter. Leo still ponders if it's a _W_ or an _M_ ; Nico doesn't tell him. Piper takes careful notice of the way Nico always seems to be wearing the leather bracelet that covers the letters. He knows she wants to take a peek. Jason is a lot more subtle, doesn't say anything or even look directly at his wrist, but there are times when he clearly tries to guide the conversation towards soulmates. Nico wishes he didn't.

The first time Nico really allows himself to think about the name on his wrist and what it means is after he is paired up with a William for a French class project. He spends a couple of nights looking at the letters on his pale skin, tracing the soft lines, imagining how the pen must have danced to create them. When he sees the William he's paired up with on Thursday, he watches him with narrowed eyes and tries to imagine the scrawny, ink splattered hand doing the writing.

William from French class isn't exactly annoying, but there's something in him that irks Nico. He doesn't know if it's the hair (it's pale brown and the cut looks like it could be straight from a Beatles album cover) or the dirt under his fingernails (he tells Nico he's doing a statue of all natural materials for Art class) or the way he constantly has to be pushing his glasses up his nose to see ("I've had glasses since I was five; my left eye is almost blind"). Maybe it's the piece of lettuce he always seems to have stuck in his braces. Either way, Nico sucks at French, and he's happy to let William from French do all the work for him so that he can toy with his bracelet all day.

In the end they get an A for their project, and William from French doesn't even tell the teacher Nico didn't lift a finger for it. He guesses he should be grateful, and he offers the guy a rare smile.

Nico doesn't see William from French after graduation.

* * *

Will goes to college in New York – something his mother isn't too happy about.

"Surely there are decent schools closer to home?" she asks for the fifth time that night, leaning to his bedroom wall and watching him pack. It's not really even an argument anymore; Mom has asked a thousand times and Will has replied the same way each time.

"I've told you, Mom; NYU has offered me a scholarship. It's also one of the best medical schools in the country, and they offer great internships as well as a possibility to study abroad." The line is starting to sound like an advert, an over rehearsed statement. He dumps a pile of t-shirts to his luggage and turns to look at her. "It's not like I'm gonna be gone forever. I'll be back for Thanksgiving."

Mom sighs, and for a moment Will thinks she looks old. No, not old, just… older. "I know, sweet pea. It's just that you've grown up so fast." Will has heard this too many times to count, too, but doesn't interrupt. "You'll be back for holidays, yes. But one day you will have a life there, away from all this. You will find your soulmate and have your own family, and then you'll be too busy to come down here to see little old me every couple of months."

It's annoying, hearing Mom say things like that over and over. She's starting to sound a little like a martyr. But it's a bit heartbreaking, too, especially the part about his soulmate. Will turns to look at Mom, and as expected, she's holding a palm against her lower ribs, right there where Will knows his father's name is written in messy handwriting. He knows Mom is speaking from experience.

He places one more hoodie down in the luggage before zipping it and turning to look at her shyly. "Mom, can I ask you to do something?"

Mom's face softens, just like it used to when Will was younger and asked her to read _James and the Giant Peach_ again. "Of course, darlin'. Anything."

"Could you…" It's surprisingly hard to ask her this; he hasn't told her about the name, only that he has it. Only Cecil has seen it so far. "Could you take a picture of my soulmate mark for me? I can't – it's in my back and… and I'd like to see it."

Will thinks his mom should be a little more flattered to do this. Then he thinks he's an idiot, takes off his shirt and turns his back to Mom. He feels exposed in a way he hasn't before; it's weird to be showing the name to her. He doesn't even know why, but somehow the name has felt too personal. He isn't even sure if he likes the fact _Cecil_ has seen it, but he needs someone to take a picture of it every time he gets a new letter, and Cecil… well, Cecil is his best friend.

The touch comes as a surprise, and Will jumps a little. His mom traces a finger there, right there where he can't reach himself and doesn't want anyone else to go. But he can't exactly tell his mother not to touch his back, now, can he?

" _Niccolo_ ", Mom reads quietly, and Will swallows. "That's… that's a boy's name, isn't it?"

Will takes a deep breath and tries to stay calm when he hands his phone to her, the camera app already open and ready. "I – I think so, yeah."

"A foreigner?"

"Seems like it."

Mom takes the picture and gives the phone back. Will sighs a little when he reads the name. He has a new letter; _Niccolo di A_ sounds like a name from a mafia film, or an artificial artistic 60s murder mystery novel. Will really likes it. There's a beautiful curve on the _A_ that gives the signature a royal look.

"I'm so sorry, Will", Mom says softly, and at first Will doesn't get it. What does she have to be sorry about? "I know how much you always wanted it to be a romantic soulmate. But honey, I've heard that platonic relationships between soulmates are just as wholesome and fulfilling as romantic ones."

 _Right_. Will's heart drops to his stomach when the realization hits him again. Mom has _no idea_. She doesn't know the way Will looks at the guys in his school. She doesn't know he broke up with his last girlfriend because he had a crush on her brother. She doesn't know that he had seriously considered taking his friend Paolo to prom, as a date. If she did, she probably wouldn't have such a big problem with him moving all the way to New York.

"Yeah, I know", is all Will is able to say when he pockets the phone again and pulls his shirt back on. She's not wrong, after all; not about the platonic soulmates or about his dreams of developing a romantic relationship with his. She just can't accept that maybe he doesn't have to give up just because his soulmate is a guy. "Hey, listen, I'm gonna finish up packing and then maybe we can go to see Grandma? I don't think I'll have time tomorrow before I go."

Mom leaves the room with a smile. She also leaves Will dreading the future and with a novel necessity to get away from the house.

* * *

Nico tries to ignore the fact that the guy's name tag says _Will_. It's not the first time, but he still unconsciously rubs his wrist through the sleeve. "A tall pumpkin spice latte, please." _Why is Will such an ordinary name? Why do I even care?_

"Sure thing", the barista grins, and Nico looks away. _He's cute_. But then again, so is every other Will he meets. "Anything else?"

"No, thank you."

"Name? For the order."

"Nico."

Nico does notice how the guy's hand stops for a second over the cup before he scribbles down his name, but he doesn't think anything of it. He pays for his latte, places the change to the tip jar, and steps aside to scroll on his phone and wait for his order.

It has become a habit now. Nico opens the notepad and goes down the list. _William from French class. Will from the supermarket. Will the pizza guy. William Song from the nurse's office_. He goes down through all seventeen names on the list, then adds another: _Will from the campus coffee shop_. He feels like there's a huge pit in his stomach when he glances at the name on his wrist, wondering why he even bothers.

 _William So_

It's stupid. It's all so frustratingly stupid. Nico hates the soulmate system, hates it so much it makes him want to punch something. He doesn't get why this is even a thing; why would he need someone specific in his life? Aren't his current friends enough? Sure, they all have their soulmates, which is exactly why Nico is getting coffee alone on a Friday night. But Nico has gone through all his life without a soulmate, unlike his friends. He can handle being by himself.

He doesn't get why it bothers him so much, the name on his wrist. Or maybe _bother_ is a wrong way of putting it; he doesn't know why he _cares_ so much. For the past five years he has told himself he doesn't care, not one bit, while constantly knowing that he cares a lot.

"Nico, pumpkin spice?" the other guy behind the counter calls rather unnecessarily, seeing as Nico is pretty much the only customer there. Nico mutters a quick _thanks_ , takes his drink and bolts out, already reaching for the cigarettes in his pocket.

One thing that is possibly even more stupid than soulmates is smoking, but Nico does it anyway. He could argue that it helps him to think, or that it calms his nerves, or even that he's really addicted, but the real reason is that it's a habit he picked up after his parents and Bianca died and he isn't even sure he wants to get rid of it. Nico has tried to stop, if even just for Hazel's sake, but it really is not that easy.

To Nico, smoking and having a soulmate are very similar things. Something stupid and irrelevant he can't get rid of. Something constant in his life, something that goes with him everywhere and anywhere and gives him an occasional rush. It _can_ feel good. Mostly it just feels like shit.

He sees Hazel before she sees him, and dumps the half smoked cigarette to the ground. "Hey, Hazel."

She turns around, her curly hair hitting her face and getting to her mouth in the wind. She's really pretty, Nico knows that much, but he just sees the little sister he missed growing up. "Hey, how's my favorite brother doing this fine afternoon?"

Nico rolls his eyes but lets her hug him like they haven't seen just the previous day. "I'm your _only_ brother."

"Which makes you my favorite. Anyway", she links their arms and starts walking to the direction of the nearest underground station, "are you ready to do some last minute Thanksgiving shopping? Frank's coming to help with the food, and Percy and Annabeth promised to bring pie and Mrs Jackson's seven layer dip."

Nico isn't sure he actually wants to celebrate Thanksgiving. He isn't thankful for much, anyway. Sure, he managed to get his nails painted black without much hassle this morning, but that's just luck and years of practice. And yes, of course he's grateful for Hazel and the fact that they have managed to connect even though their father kept them apart growing up, but does he really need a whole holiday dinner to express that?

He sighs and takes a sip of his latte. _Delicious_. "Ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

"Name? For the order?"

"Nico."

Will stops for a second. _Nico_. It's so close. He bites back a disappointed sigh as he writes the name down and cashes the order. The customer (a cute guy with messy black hair, probably a freshman) puts the change to the tip jar and Will smiles as a _thank you_ as he hands the cup over to Connor, but the guy isn't even looking at him anymore.

It's a quiet day in the coffee shop. Not many people wander around now that classes are over. Will suspects most are already on their way home to their families, to celebrate Thanksgiving. He takes out his phone to check the time (three more hours until his shift ends, five more until he's on his way to Texas) and ends up once again staring the lockscreen.

It's maybe a little stupid, having the picture of his soulmate mark as his phone background. But, Will reasons, as he can't see it in person anytime he wants, it must be okay to look at it like this from time to time, right? ( _From time to time_ meaning _all the damn time_. According to Cecil.) It helps that the letters are beautiful, neat and delicate, straight lines and even curves. _Niccolo di Ang_ tastes foreign on this tongue whenever he tries to say it out loud, but it's probably not finished yet.

It sounds Italian, Will decides once again and bites his lip. _Is my soulmate Italian?_ _How am I even supposed to find them if they're Italian?_ It's not the first time he's thought about this, and okay, maybe the possibility that his soulmate is European was one of the reasons he was originally so interested in the NYU exchange program. He has let his eyes wander on the application sheets a few times, and he's already checked that there's indeed an exchange available to Italy, starting next fall.

Will sighs when he realizes he's thinking about it too much again. He looks around, sees that there are no new customers in need of his attention, and pulls out his messages.

 _To: cecil: [13:09] please tell me you're home for thanksgiving. i need a new picture of the letters, and also wouldn't hurt to see you  
_ _From: cecil: [13:09] good to know you don't only keep me around for the sake of your letters  
_ _From: cecil: [13:10] and of course i'm home, do you think my mom would ever forgive me if i spent thanksgiving in utah?_

Tapping a quick _guess not_ as a way of a reply, Will pockets the phone again and leans on the counter.

College is fine, he thinks. He's so busy between classes and the irregularly busy shifts in the coffee shop that he barely has time to even think about his soulmate that much anymore. When he finally goes to bed at night and _has_ the time, he finds himself so tired he falls asleep almost immediately. The letters make their way to his dreams, sometimes, but even then all he gets is the faint echo of Italian opera accompanied by the letters jumping up and down and rearranging themselves over and over again.

Will is frustrated. He's young, he knows he has plenty of time to find his soulmate and that he shouldn't be worried. But most of his friends have found theirs already, and it doesn't help that the name in his back is foreign. It only feeds Will's biggest fear.

 _What if I never find him?_

* * *

Nico gets suspicious when he gets two more letters over the course of the weekend.

"What does this mean?" he whines to Hazel when they meet up for coffee Monday afternoon, sitting outside the campus coffee shop in the cold and not caring about the way her nose scrunches every time he drags a smoke. "I mean, I _know_ it means I've met him now, but how should I know who it is? There must be dozens of Williams in a two mile radius as we speak, not to mention all those who flew in for Thanksgiving alone."

Hazel doesn't seem nearly as worried as she should, in Nico's opinion. "Well, how many of those have you actually spoken to? It's not like you make small talk to every single person you meet."

Nico takes out his List of Williams on his phone and removes three, including _William Song from the nurse's office._ Shame, he'd seemed nice enough. "How should I know? It could be someone who never told me their name, someone I barely remember talking to at all and who I won't ever even see again in my life. Wouldn't that be just my luck?"

"Ah, don't be such a buzz kill", Hazel smiles, ever the optimist. Nico takes another drag. "This is good news, Nico! You're closer to finding your soulmate than you've ever been before! Imagine the look on Jason's face when he finds out."

Jason's been very annoying lately. Nico is the only one in their group of friends that hasn't found his other half yet – even Leo found Cal over the summer. It's almost like Jason has made it his personal job to find every single William in the United States and introduce them to Nico. Needless to say, it's annoying, and it isn't even working.

Or, well, hasn't worked so far, at least.

"Yeah, okay, so maybe it would be nice to shut him up", Nico gives and dumps the cigarette, standing up and heading for the door to get his well deserved latte. He holds the door for Hazel. "That still doesn't mean I give a fuck about the whole soulmate business anyway."

As usual, Hazel isn't amused. "Niccolo di Angelo, what have I told you about using that kind of language?"

"Hazel Levesque, what have I told you about using my full name?" Nico grits his teeth. He's never liked his name, not even when he was a kid, but after mother died he hasn't been able to hear it from anyone. "It's _Nico_."

Hazel merely rolls her eyes. "How do you expect to _ever_ find your soulmate if you don't use your name?" she asks him and makes her way to the counter without waiting for an answer, already eying the menu. "Hi, can I have a cinnamon dolche latte, please?"

But the guy behind the counter ( _Will from the campus coffee shop_ ) isn't looking at her at all.

* * *

"Niccolo di Angelo, what have I told you about using that kind of language?"

Will feels his whole life stop right there and then. He looks up so fast that he'll feel it in his neck for the rest of the day, but he doesn't care. _Niccolo di Angelo_. Will got two more letters over the weekend, he has a picture to prove it (thanks, Cecil), and even without the _o_ this is too big of a coincidence to ignore.

 _Niccolo di Angelo_. Will remembers the guy from last week, remembers writing down his name as _Nico_. He's a little shorter than Will, his hair is a mess of black that curls at the ends slightly, his skin is pale and it doesn't help that he dresses in all black. Later, _much_ later, Will will argue that he though Nico was beautiful the second he lied eyes on him, but truthfully his first thought is that Niccolo di Angelo looks like any other emo on the streets, and he's maybe a tiny bit disappointed.

There's a girl at the counter now, but Will can't possibly hear what she's saying. His eyes are glued on the guy in black, even if the other keeps staring at his feet.

"You… your name is Niccolo di Angelo?" Will can feel the way his heart is thumping, and it's starting to get uncomfortable. He couldn't care less.

The guy ( _Niccolo di Angelo_ ) looks up and squints his eyes at him. "It's Nico. And what's it to you, anyway?"

 _Rude_. It's almost cute. Will thinks it's the chocolate eyes. He clears his throat. "I'm Will Solace. I have your name written on my skin."

His words make the guy take forward a step that looks almost involuntary. Will hears a gasp, probably from the girl, but he doesn't look away. _Niccolo di Angelo_ looks at him with his big eyes and parted lips and doesn't say anything, and Will gets nervous.

"It's on my back", he says hastily. "But I have a picture. It's not recent, or I guess that depends on what you think is recent, it's taken last Friday because that's when I last saw Cecil and I – I don't want just anyone to…"

"Yeah." The guy's voice is soft and smooth like velvet when he stops Will from rambling. "I get that." _He sounds like he's singing_ , Will thinks, and all he can do is stare.

The longer he stares, the softer the guy's features seem to get. Will notices a few freckles on the bridge of his nose. The dark lashes are long and thick and beautiful, and his jawline looks like it was carved by angels. _He's actually really freaking beautiful_ , Will thinks, and wonders how on earth he didn't notice all this last week.

The girl at the counter (Will only later registers that he'd probably seen her in the coffee shop before, too) takes that moment to actually be helpful, even if Will has barely spared her a glance. "Nico has his letters on his wrist. I can't be one hundred per cent sure, of course, but I like to think you'll like what they spell out."

Will swallows dry, and the lump that's taken vacancy in his throat doesn't go away. "Can – can I see?" he asks quietly, not sure if it's even okay to ask that. He has no idea what the proper etiquette is. Seriously, people write thousands of books about the theory of soulmates, the history and the meaning and the neurological datum, but no one has thought to make a guide book as to how you should act when meeting them for the first time? There seems to be a real flaw in the system.

The guy ( _Nico_ , Will reminds himself now with a fluttering heart, _Nico di Angelo_ ) doesn't break the eye contact as he takes another step closer to the counter, holds up his left hand and pulls up his sleeve. It takes Will three or four extra seconds to gather the courage to look down down at the now exposed sliver of skin.

There it is. Well, not all of it; it spells _William Sola_ for now, but it's _there_ , and it's real, and it's definitely his name. Will tries to remind himself how to breathe but isn't doing a very good job with that.

"You're only missing two more", he whispers, mostly to himself, but maybe a part of him wants Nico to hear, too. It's remarkable, really, the way it looks like he's written his name on Nico's skin. It's his handwriting, his signature down to the tiniest swirl. He hadn't prepared for this to be so emotional. "C-can I…" he inches a little closer, carefully reaching out with his hand.

Nico only nods as a reply, but when Will's fingertips touch the skin on his wrist ( _oh, he's so warm_ ) he sighs, just a little, almost inaudibly. Will wonders if Nico's like him, if he's never wanted anyone else to touch his letters, either. The thought makes his heart a little warmer. The letters look just like Will knew they would; he's stared at his own signature time and time again on formal papers and in that notebook he keeps under his bed (he's been perfecting the letters since he was twelve, wanting to make them look perfect), trying to imagine how they will look on someone's skin.

Beautiful. That's how they look. Absolutely beautiful. Looking at them, tracing his finger on them, makes Will want to giggle.

(It's probably around here that the girl vanishes, Will thinks half an hour later when he's banging his head against the counter. He sometimes still wishes she didn't leave. Things could have gone a little differently if she had stayed.)

"Here", Will murmurs, retreats his fingers as he takes out his phone and shows his letters to Nico. "I can't see them myself properly, only through the mirror, so I've been asking my friend Cecil to take pictures every time I get a new letter."

"Sounds reasonable." Nico's voice is calm and quiet ( _how does he keep himself that calm?_ ), and it registers somewhere in the back of Will's mind that there are no other customers and Connor has gone to the back room, probably to give them some privacy. Will makes a mental note to thank him later. "It's – it's strange. Seeing my own handwriting somewhere I _know_ I haven't written anything."

That's so far the longest sentence Will has heard Nico say, and yes, he could listen to that voice day in, day out. He feels giddy; he's read about this, the way soulmates can feel an instant connection the second they meet, a pull to be close and never be apart again. Will hasn't wanted to keep his hopes up, knowing that it's relatively rare and that he may not even form a romantic bond with his soulmate, but if this really is what he thinks he is…

Nico is still looking at the picture on Will's phone when Will speaks again. "Listen, I – my shift ends in an hour. Would you like to go get something to eat? There's a cool Mexican place a few blocks away. Or we could get hot dogs. Or, you know, if you're not hungry we can maybe – "

"I need to have a smoke."

Will snaps his mouth shut. Nico is leaning back from the counter and looking away, but Will can see the panicked look on his face. _Did I come on too strong?_ He knows he was rambling, he always does that when he's nervous or excited, and right now he hates himself for it. Will watches how Nico's hands tremble when he pulls on his sleeve and hides the beautiful letters. _Is he shaking because he needs a smoke or is it something else? Is he nervous, too?_

The pre-med in Will takes the wheel for long enough to possibly ruin everything. "I don't think that's wise. Smoking really isn't good for you."

"I don't see why you should care", Nico snaps, and Will is slightly taken aback. He watches as the deep brown eyes turn to him, full of stubborn spite and something that Will really doesn't want to read as hatred or anger but still does. "You don't know me, you don't know anything about me, and I don't know you. Why the fuck should you care if I smoke or not?"

"Because like it or not, we're soulmates – "

"Well I think soulmates are fucking stupid." Those are probably the very last words Will ever wants his soulmate to say. "I didn't ask for this, for _any_ of this. I don't know you, and I don't really get along with most people so I wouldn't keep my hopes up on getting to know me if I were you. Frankly, I don't even _care_ about this whole soulmate business anyway."

The words stab like blades. Will has always been a little too dramatic, but this time he isn't even exaggerating. He's been looking for this moment his whole life, since the first moment he learned about soulmates, and now nothing is going like he wants. Everything is just wrong. Will watches as Nico turns away and starts walking towards the door, and knows that if he doesn't say something quickly he may regret it for the rest of his life.

(This time he's exaggerating a little, but he really feels like his whole future is slipping through his fingers. It's not his fault; he has no idea what is going on inside Nico's head.)

"I don't expect you to love me, you know." Nico stops, and even though he doesn't turn back Will takes this as an encouragement to keep going. "We don't have to date. That's the best part about soulmates, right? We can be anything we need each other to be. I can be your friend, if you need me to, or just some guy you occasionally buy coffee from." _But truth be told_ , Will thinks when he watches Nico's shoulders drop slightly, _that would probably kill me_. "We don't have to date and fall in love, just please, _please_ don't cut me out entirely."

In the following ten seconds of absolute silence Will imagines sixteen different ways his heart could break right there and then, including a very literal, very bloody, very vivid version where Nico uses the doorknob to cut his chest open. Nico stands there like a statue, not turning to look at him, not moving a muscle, and Will thinks that even if nothing happens at all his heart is still probably going to break. _Soulmates are fucking stupid._ The coffee shop has probably never been this quiet.

"I…" Will swears he hasn't yet heard Nico's voice quite like that; so soft, so vulnerable, so afraid. _It's broken._ "I'll see you tomorrow, Solace."

Four, five long strides, and Nico is out of the door. Six, seven more seconds, and Will lets out a shaky breath and closes his eyes, drops his head on the counter, and doesn't know if seeing Nico tomorrow will be a good thing or a bad thing. For now, he has a broken heart to mend.

* * *

Nico has been beating himself up since the second he walked out of the campus coffee shop yesterday. He knows he was being rude and unfair; none of this is Will's fault. Will didn't ask to be soulmates with him, either. It's completely wrong of Nico to be like that to Will, who probably now hates his guts and doesn't ever want to see his face again.

 _Which_ , Nico now thinks and stands across the street from the coffee shop, _would really suck_. Because he wants to see Will. Badly. He has wanted to go back and see Will ever since he turned his eyes away, and he doesn't even know why. Well, okay, he does; its because Will is his soulmate. Nico knows that, and he isn't even mad. The pull he feels towards the other guy isn't exactly pleasant, but it isn't _unpleasant_ either, and as scary as it sounds, Nico thinks he's willing to give in to it.

Every word he said to Will yesterday is true on some level. They're true, but they got out all wrong. They don't know each other, but they can learn. Nico doesn't get along with most people, but most people aren't his soulmate, aren't _Will_. Nico didn't ask for any of this, and neither did Will, but it happened anyway, and who's to say it's a bad thing? Nico doesn't care about soulmates in general, but he does care about his own, who happens to be _Will from the campus coffee shop_.

Nico looks down at his wrist. He got one more letter this morning, and according to Will, he's only missing one now. _William Solace_. The name sounds beautiful, even more beautiful than it looks written on Nico's skin.

Taking out his phone, Nico does the last thing that needs to be done before he crosses the street and makes up the courage to talk to Will. He opens his note pad and deletes his List of Williams without even opening it anymore. There's only one William on that list that matters to him anymore, and he doesn't need a list to know where to find him.

"Deep breaths, Nico", Nico mumbles to himself and stares straight ahead. "Don't be an idiot. Get in there, now." He inhales slowly, then starts making his way to the coffee shop.

When he doesn't see Will at the counter, he panics a little. He hasn't thought this through, he realizes. What if Will's not even working today? What's the plan? Is Nico going to come to the coffee shop every day for as long as it takes until he catches Will? He feels a little light headed when it hits him that _yes, that's exactly the plan._

Nico walks to the counter. "Is Will here?" he asks the girl in an apron before she can even say hello. He knows he's maybe being a little rude again, but he really, _really_ needs to see Will.

The girl (name tag says _Kayla_ , but Nico doesn't actually care) looks at him strangely, then nods and turns to call for Will from the back room. Nico feels his heart thumping in his throat during the seconds until he finally sees his soulmate again.

Nico noticed this yesterday already, but Will is not just cute like thought last week. Will is _beyond_ cute, he's kind of beautiful, and Nico feels heat climbing from his neck to his cheeks. He likes Will's curls, and the blue eyes. He noticed the freckles yesterday, too (it's hard _not_ to notice the freckles, to be honest; they're _everywhere_ , even on his back according to the picture of Nico's name between Will's shoulder blades), but now Nico sees how they stand out in the unnatural light of the coffee shop that makes Will's skin look paler than it is. Nico wants to spend hours and days and weeks trying to count every single freckle.

"H-hi", Nico tries when Will doesn't say anything, and hates how his voice breaks in the middle. He clears his throat and ignores the second odd look Kayla gives him. "Can we, uh – can we talk? In private, hopefully?"

Will looks at him for two long seconds, then nods. "I can't take you to the back room, but – " he motions to the corner table far from the few customers in the coffee shop. "We can sit there. You okay with this, Kayla? I'll be up as soon as you need me."

Nico is uncharastically grateful when Kayla nods and smiles at Will. He follows the taller guy to the table and lingers for half a second before taking a step across him. Will looks at him, and the blue eyes are softer than Nico anticipated. It gives him courage to say what's needed.

"I came to apologize", Nico starts. His voice is a little weak, but he keeps it low so that no one can eavesdrop. He knows Will can hear him. "I – I was very unfair to you yesterday. And I said all the wrong things, and if I could take it all back I would. I would, in a heart beat." _Even in a rapid one like mine_. "I can't expect you to forgive me, but I just… I'm sorry, Will."

He feels like a coward, but he can't look at Will after he's said all that. He looks at his hands on the table, the little swirl of the _W_ that peeks under his sleeve. He loves that swirl, has loved it even when he was fourteen and positively pissed off.

"Apology accepted." Will's voice is just as warm as it was yesterday, and that makes Nico breathe a little easier, even if he thinks he doesn't deserve the warmth. "You said you don't get along with people, so I take it that this is a huge deal for you." Nico looks up, and yes, Will has a smirk on his face. It makes his eyes shine. It's… it's beautiful. Will's smile is beautiful. "You're a little difficult, aren't you?"

Will doesn't say it unkindly, not like Nico's teachers all through high school. Will smiles at him, and his voice is warm, and for once the word difficult doesn't make Nico's anger peak.

"Yes", he says. "I'm the first to admit that I'm more than a little difficult. I'm probably one of the most difficult people you will ever have the misfortune to meet. But…" He chews on his lip for seven rapid heart beats and holds eye contact with Will. "But we're soulmates. And despite what I said yesterday, I do want to make this work. And – and I was wondering if we could start over."

Nico has a feeling he shouldn't expect too much. He's never been good at apologizes, and he definitely hasn't made this much effort on a relationship with anyone but Hazel. But Nico's not fourteen and pissed off anymore; he's nineteen, he's tired of being the quota lone wolf of his group of friends, and he's _desperate_ to make things right with Will.

So when Will smiles and says _yeah, okay, let's start over_ , it takes Nico a lot not to grin like an idiot and throw his fist in the air in triumph.

"Hi", he smiles slightly instead, offers his hand for Will to shake, and lets himself drown in the blue, blue eyes a little. "My name is Nico di Angelo. I have your name written on my wrist. I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me."

* * *

" _James and the Giant Peach_?" Will's cheeks get tinted in pink, and Nico thinks he looks adorable. " _That_ was your favorite book?"

"Hey, I really liked peaches, okay?"

Nico grins and takes another spoonful of their shared crème brûlée, nudging his shoulder against Will's. "I'm not judging. My favorite was _Alice's Adventures In Wonderland_."

In the end, Nico thinks as he watches how Will's eyes sparkle in the afternoon sun shining through the windows, having a soulmate is nothing like smoking at all. Smoking is disgusting, it's unhealthy, and it makes his fingers smell like nicotine. He's trying to quit for real, now; not for Will or for Hazel, bu for himself. He has new addictions now.

Like Will's smile. (Nico still hasn't found a proper word to describe it.) And Will's laughter. And the way he's constantly learning more and more things about the guy, little things like favorite bands and the way he likes his tea, and bigger stuff like favorite childhood memories and dreams for the future. During the last half an hour alone Nico has learned a million facts about Will that he's stashed to his mind, in the box he has labelled as _William Solace_.

Will is really something else. It's crazy, really, how Nico ever could have thought he doesn't need a soulmate, because now he can't imagine a version of his life where he _doesn't_ meet Will.

And it's not like they even have been going out for long. It's been three weeks since the first time Nico offered to go get dinner with Will, and not a day has gone by that they haven't seen each other. Every day Nico's heart skips a beat when he sees Will, and every day his hands itch to hold Will's, and _every day_ he asks himself why he ever wanted to give all this up just to be difficult. He reaches out to lace their fingers together, and the smile he gets in return makes his cheeks flush red.

"You know", Will says and licks his lips thoughtfully, "I don't think I've had a crème brûlée before."

"Oh?" Nico takes another bite and savours the taste. It makes him think of home and the awfully fancy dinners he never cared about, but – it's _nice_ , in a way. "And do you like it, now that you've tasted it?"

Will smiles again. "I _love_ it."

 _Radiant_. That's got to be the closest thing Nico has to describe it. Will's eyes shine, and his freckle covered cheeks have dimples, and he's _radiant_. A million dollar smile, Piper would probably say, but it's worth so much more than that. Nico's eyes linger on the curve of Will's lips, the soft pink of them, the lone freckle a little left on his lower lip, right there next to the –

"You have custard on your lip." Nico knows this is a scene from the movies. He thinks he should have seen it form; it was right there, right in front of him the whole time. Will licks his lips again. "A little left. No, _my_ left – here…"

Nico does what any actor in a movie does in these situations; he reaches out his hand and gently, softly wipes the custard away with his thumb. He feels a little stupid, but Will is looking at him with those eyes again, and Nico's heart is practicing a drum solo.

"Will", Nico mutters, his eyes fixed on the contrast of his black nail polish against Will's pink lip. They're so close now that Nico can count the freckles around Will's mouth. "Will, I… can I kiss you?"

And Will lets out a breath that hits Nico in the face, smelling sweet and inviting Nico to lean in closer. "Please do."

Will's lips are soft and warm. They feel fuller than they did under his thumb, and they taste like coffee and crème brûlée, and it's intoxicating. Nico has a hard time breathing, but right now he doesn't care, because it's like Will's lips were made to be kissed by his. _They were_ , a small voice in the back of Nico's head says smugly. _That's what being soulmates means_. Nico smiles to the kiss and holds Will's hand that much tighter.

Kissing Will is something Nico never knew he was missing in his life, but now that he's had a taste he can't possibly get enough. Their lips slot perfectly against each other, their noses don't bump awkwardly like Nico has heard can happen, and when Will opens his mouth the tiniest bit to capture Nico's lower lip it's the single most wonderful thing Nico has ever experienced. They move their lips slowly against each other, perfectly in sync, memorizing the shape of the other and drowning in the taste that transfers from French desserts to cherry lip balm and herbal tea.

Nico remembers Piper telling him that her first kiss with Jason was over too quickly. He remembers Leo complaining about something similar. But when he breaks the kiss by pressing his forehead against Will's and opening his eyes, he doesn't think it's over, not even close. He locks his eyes with Will's blue ones and doesn't ever want to look away.

"Hey", Will whispers to him, and their lips brush together in an almost-kiss. Nico feels tingly all over. "I think I'm going to love you."

It should sound frightening. It should make Nico's face pale and his stomach turn and make him want to run out the door right this second. It should _not_ feel like taking a warm bath, like falling down from a great height to something incredibly soft, like taking a long breath of fresh air on the first day of spring. It shouldn't feel like coming home, yet it does.

Nico smiles and presses theirs lips together briefly. "Yes", he says against them, "I think I'm going to love you, too."

* * *

A/N2: I headcanon that Nico's name is actually Niccolo. If you want to hear more, please drop by my tumblr (significant-what) and send me an ask! :) Reviews are very much appreciated.


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